Sarah Palin's "bridge to nowhere" claim comes under a microscope

Who could have foreseen that Alaska's infamous "bridge to nowhere" would become the presidential campaign's debating point du jour?

The surprise spotlight on the project speaks volumes about how the race has been transformed.

As many commentators have noted, Barack Obama and his aides have been less than sure-footed in calculating how -- and to what degree -- they should directly engage Sarah Palin. Initially, Obama and his staff sought to keep their focus on the top of the Republican ticket (that would be John McCain for those who may have forgotten)

But as Palin-mania has sustained itself, that strategy has appeared to ignore reality.

And today, perhaps in a sign of an altered response, the Obama camp and its allies came out firing on one front, hotly disputing the credit Palin takes for turning down federal funding for that proposed bridge in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

Since McCain tapped her as his running mate on Aug. 29 (hard to believe that was less than two weeks ago) Palin at every opportunity -- using virtually the same phrasing -- has told crowds that as governor of Alaska, "I told Congress, 'Thank but no thanks for that bridge to nowhere.' "

She re-ran the line again today at a rally in Lebanon, Ohio. But she did so in the face of a release from the Obama forces noting that a plethora of reporting shows her stance on the project -- which would have connected the small city of Ketchikan to the even smaller island of Gravina -- isn't so black-and-white.

The first story cited in the Obama release, tellingly, ran in the Wall Street Journal today. It's headline: "Record Contradicts Palin's 'Bridge' Claim."

The release also points out that the independent PolitiFact.com came to the same conclusion recently. (The group has an update on the bridge dispute.)

Joining the Obama effort to deconstruct Palin's position on the project is a posting on the ThinkProgress.org web site -- a sign that liberal advocacy groups are fully engaged on the issue.

[UPDATE: Conservative groups are having their say, as well. The anti-tax Club for Growth put out a release today scorning Obama for "hypocrisy" on the bridge issue. It notes that in 2005, he voted against a Senate amendment to thwart funding for the project.

We checked with the office of the amendment's sponsor, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, and learned that he proposed re-routing the money to help repair a bridge damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Obama was one of 82 senators to vote against the amendment (obscurely described in congressional records); only 15 supported it. Missing the vote: McCain.

-- Don Frederick

Photo credit: Associated Press

Comments

[Peter]

This is a bridge to a non-story. If it were a story I would be all over it. But there are so many other scandals that we could be talking about when it comes to Sarah Palin. A possible Affair, Trooper Gate http://www.hotpres.com

[jack]

There's nothing wrong with changing your stance when you see you're wrong....that's growth and maturity in admitting that you're wrong, such as McCain with Immigration. IF Obama had that capacity, Hilary would be on his ticket, but he listened to bitter Michelle.

It was reported last night that BOTH Obama and Biden voted FOR the bridge, even when another Senator gave them the option to redirect funds to a bridge affected by Hurricane Katrina, they declined. Do they really want to go down this road????

[Not Your sweetie]

When will the media report that Obama & Biden voted for the money at the expense of Katrina survivors?
http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/bridge-to-nowhere-who-voted-for-what/

[Scy]

She may lie like a rug, she may set back women's rights 100 eyars, she may not know squat, she may not be able to stand up to terrorists because she can't even stand up to reporters . . . but by God she shoots moose, has kids and is purty so we gonna vote for her!!!! You people deserve the ruination of America that the Republicans have brought upon us. Could we just get it over with so we can start over?

[Boris86]

The left is grasping at straws as they see their empty suit candidate sink to the bottom of the polls. They'll do and say anything just to get elected.

[rjinchi]

the media made her a celbrity and the media will take it away - she will go on to become a talk show host.....

[Guest]

Obama’s Public Image Speaks Volumes
==============================================

Images are important; they express ideas and project intent. Even the choice of ‘style’ reveals hidden truths and revelations. In Modern politics, Lenin, Hitler and Mao all recognized, and thus governed and controlled their populations through subtle image messaging.

Therefore, during this important Presidential Election season, it is important to understand that the public image of Barack Obama in a national campaign poster proclaiming both ‘Hope’ and ‘Progress’, in fact, visually promises neither hope or progress. This image doesn’t even invoke freedom or democracy.

Rather, the motif for this poster is derived from propaganda posters used during the former Soviet Union. Indeed, Shepard Fairey, 38, recently told The Los Angeles Times his Obama portrait “was inspired by Soviet propaganda posters." Indeed, Mr. Fairey’s fascination and reliance upon Communist imagery and practices are so well known that Time called upon the designer to do a portrait of Vladimir Putin.

So, rather than portraying and representing a
future, revolutionary American leader, Obama’s 2008 Presidential poster actually conveys, to the learned viewer, an arbitrary red, white and blue façade placed over an old Communist authority. In other words, underlying this familiar face one can also recognize the template of political ruthlessness, suppressed freedoms, and an uncompromising authoritarian. None of these qualities would get a single vote this September except from Anarchists...

Read Full Article: www.lgwilliams.com/art/Obama_Public_Image_Speaks_Volumes.pdf

[USAalltheway]

Hmmm...... so it is OK for Palin to change her stance, and it is OK for McCain to change his stance. In their case it is called growth and maturity.

But when Obama does it, or when Kerry did it.... it was called FLIP-FLOPPING and it is a BAD thing.

I have been a supporting GOP member for 30 years, but I cannot any longer take their pathetic attempts to steal elections while never addressing the issues. It is very sad to see the oldest party suddenly looking weak and desperate. Using common tricks to try and twist things is no way to win an election.

I used to be proud to call myself a Republican. My only hope is that McCain remembers who he really if he gets into office. But this Palin pick makes me sick, this woman is a train wreck waiting to happen.

[Reid]

@ Jack.

Obama has already proven that he is flexible about certain positions. I am sure that you were tuned into his O' Reilly interview when he suggested that the surge had been successful.

As for the suggestion that Michelle kept Hillary off of the ticket, your slander is absolutely ridiculous. How can you suggest that a complex, strategic choice can be reduced to petty jealously? With all of her baggage and poor campaigning techniques, Hillary would have been a lousy running mate.

Furthermore, what evidence do you have that Obama voted against supporting citizens affected by Katrina? Your comment reads like a typical Republican hack job.

[DVS]

All the pieces will fall into place right after the first debates. In the debates, McCain and Palin will not be reading a teleprompter with a nicely scripted, heavily rehearsed speech in front of an adoring convention crowd. They will not be able to take shots at their respective opponents without the fear of reprisal or retort. They will be required to deal with matters that actually matter to this country and it's people. They will both, most likely, be called upon to explain actions and events. After the election, Palin can go back to shooting moose and caribou and McCain can wander off into the sunset...or wherever it is he wanders off to afterward.

[TruAmerican]

Shut up, Obama! She did not take the earmark for the bridge project! That is it. Her claim is true. She did sell the jet, she did not use the jet! That is it! Her claim is true! Obama, stop distorting other's record while you do not have one of your own!

[Tom]

How convenient ---LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — "John McCain took a risk in picking little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate, but now the campaign's playing it safer. She's sticking to a greatest hits version of her convention speech on the campaign trail and steering clear of questions until she's comfortable enough for a hand-picked interviewer later this week."

[Maria]

Jack:

She didn't change her stance when she saw she was wrong. She changed her stance when it became politically unpopular to continue to support it. Of course, Ted Stevens hid the money in an appropriations bill and so the bottom line is Alaska got it anyway. Ms. Independence thereby got $230 taxpayer dollars to spend on infrastructure for her state of 670,000 without needing to raise it herself. Funny how cons don't like welfare unless it's going to states that vote Republican.

[Tom]

Boris...we all do it!! it's the nature of politics. It's not like we all drank the same cool-aid

The left is grasping at straws as they see their empty suit candidate sink to the bottom of the polls. They'll do and say anything just to get elected.

Posted by: Boris86 | September 09, 2008 at 01:27 PM

[Melissa Burke]

Seriously people – there are far more qualified women out there than Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin’s main skills include being able to field dress a moose and bark loud enough to distract Americans from tangible issues around which we should be electing our nation’s leaders – like the fact that the credit bubble created under the Republican administration is imploding, while we spent 3+ TRILLION dollars in Iraq. I’m tired of my hard earned tax dollars being used to line the pockets of wealthy oil executives and John McCain’s other cronies who own more houses than they can count. Why don’t we spend some of that money domestically on things that directly benefit America?? John McCain cheated on his first wife (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html), so why wouldn’t he cheat the American people? I’m not interested in a President who would be fun to have beers with or in the Vice President’s fashion sense (which are the issues the media seems to focus on) – I want a true global President who can lead and inspire this country out of our morass and towards its true potential. To me the choice is clearer than ever: Obama-Biden 2008!

[BristolPalinsFetus]

Please Granny Palin, PLEASE!

I don't care about the bridge, just kill that thing atop your head that makes you look all Jiffy Pop. I can't take it anymore!!!

[Kathy]

Just one question. When is the mainstream media going to put Obama under the microscope?

[JD]

@TruAmerican

Can you please provide evidence that she did not take money for the bridge to nowhere? From all that I have read and heard from people who live in Alaska, she did originally take the money, and once she rejected the project, she did not return the money she had already taken. I would greatly appreciate a link to a credible source that says differently.

[Bud]

At least Sarah Palin has a past to explore. If only we could get the coverage of Obama past but he's never done anything. I don't care if she was for the bridge and then against it at least it shows she stands with her constituents.

You bloggers will eventually come up with something so be patient. Maybe she dies her hair - Oh NO!! Or maybe she had a fight with a jealous woman - Oh NO!!

Maybe she's just a normal person who doesn't hide her past - Oh Yes!! Maybe she's not a mouth piece for all the old Liberal cronies in Washington.

[Onlooker]

McCain -Palin ticket is a joke. No substance to this duo. It reminds me of the intro to the Shrek DVD. Me, me, oh pick me!!!
They are just trying to take advantage of the fact that Obama made a mistake by not picking Hillary as his running mate. We need someone with a plan besides going to War or a Beauty pagent to run this country.
I dub them "Candidates to no where"

[DVS]

All the pieces will fall into place right after the first debates. In the debates, McCain and Palin will not be reading a teleprompter with a nicely scripted, heavily rehearsed speech in front of an adoring convention crowd. They will not be able to take shots at their respective opponents without the fear of reprisal or retort. They will be required to deal with matters that actually matter to this country and it's people. They will both, most likely, be called upon to explain actions and events. After the election, Palin can go back to shooting moose and caribou and McCain can wander off into the sunset...or wherever it is he wanders off to afterward.

[carlos]

Only a opinion and out of the subject, I don't know why the Democrats haven't got guts to tell the true while the Republicans have got gut to tell lies, the famous "Search" ; come on guys , it is time to go and boast about the true, "George Bush and J. McCain, are paying the Sunni insurgents hundreds of millions of dollars per month not to shoot Americans soldiers" ,this is the reality of the famous " Search" ; you will see later when the American government stop paying the insurgents when the leave.

[Sacto]

Palin and her falsies! One false statement after another regarding her accomplishments.

[Wayne]

Where is the bridge????
Oh, Maybe, Obama will tell the truth and show us where it is.

[Jon K.]

This woman is a vacuous, hypocritical, power-hungry, narcissistic lunatic. The media has a fundamental obligation to the public to expose her for who she truly is. Kids gloves is not what we need with this woman. We need the truth revealed. She is a liar who is married to a sessionist and her radical ideals would destroy this nation if the elderly and prone to cancer McCain should die in office.